WILKES-BARRE, PA — Luzerne County administrators on Monday responded to an error that resulted in about 1,400 employees not being paid on time by firing an employee who was on vacation at the time, according to several sources at the courthouse.

County Council Vice Chairman Edd Brominski confirmed the employee fired Monday was Jason Parrish, who was promoted from clerk to budget and policy analyst in May 2013 with a salary of $35,000.

Reached at home in Kingston on Monday afternoon, Parrish declined to comment at length, although he characterized the pay lapse as an accident. Asked if he thought his firing was justified, Parrish said, “That’s their decision, not mine.”

The decision to fire Parrish drew swift criticism from administration detractors who accused county Manager Robert Lawton of using Parrish as a fall man. Former county controller Walter L. Griffith Jr., who had worked with Parrish in the controller’s office, said Parrish was on approved vacation at the time and that he is being punished because management failed to delegate the task to someone else.

The Pittston Township Board of Supervisors fired police Chief Robert Avvisato without offering explanation or naming a replacement Friday.

Vice Chairwoman Barbara Attardo and Treasurer Steven Rinaldi, the former chief, voted to fire Avvisato, while Chairman Joseph Adams opposed the move at a brief special meeting Friday morning.

Avvisato, a retired state police corporal, is accused of creating a hostile work environment since he took command in January 2013. He is set to go to arbitration with the township over the matter and denies the allegations.

“We don’t discuss personnel matters,” said Carol DeWolf, chairwoman of the board of supervisors. “We have handled all of this in executive session as we are allowed to.”

Supervisors declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding Layman’s departure.

According to the township code “the Manager shall be appointed for an indefinite term by a majority of all the members of the Board, shall serve at the pleasure of the Board, and shall be subject to removal by the Board by majority vote. At least 15 days before such removal, the Board shall furnish the Manager with a written statement setting forth its intention to remove the Manager.”

Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Department has fired or accepted resignations from 13 part-time workers after an investigation found that they had violated rules against double-dipping in public employment.

Ten were schoolteachers, two were U.S. Postal Service employees and one worked for the state Attorney General’s Office. All 13 lost their part-time gigs with the city as assistant recreation-center leaders, but may keep their full-time jobs.

None of the fired workers appear to be accused of holding “no-show” positions or failing to fulfill their responsibilities in both jobs.

The Kansas City Chiefs parted ways with Andy Reid today. The firing comes just more than seven months after he was hired to be the team’s head coach and after just two exhibition games.

“Andy was hired to make us a winner,” said Chiefs president Mark Donovan. “We weren’t looking to rebuild here for a few years. We feel we have the talent to win now. We made that very clear to Andy and he understood that an 0-2 record simply wasn’t in line with our goals.”

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Former West Reading Police Officer Ronald E. Ladd has been cleared of a harassment charge stemming from the altercation last August that resulted in his firing.

The ruling, issued Friday by Berks County Judge Timothy J. Rowley, overturned Ladd’s November conviction, which carried a $300 fine and courts costs.

“I’m thankful,” Ladd said Monday of his successful appeal. “Very thankful for the judge to be able to look at this unbiased, and deep in my heart I knew that eventually justice would be served. And I’m just very thankful.”

Despite the good news in court, Ladd remains without a job a week after West Reading’s Civil Service Commission upheld his November firing from the borough force.

Editor’s note: I think this incident illustrates how broken Pottstown‘s municipal government really is. Apparently, in the past, it was anything goes in borough hall. While, BM Flanders isn’t on my hit parade (and I am sure the feeling is mutual) at least he is handling this situation rather than sweeping it under the carpet. The carpet in borough hall is very lumpy…there has been a good deal of crap kicked under the rug in that building for years.

Frankly, we think Codes should be outsourced. It’s the poster child for a dysfunctional department. Maybe after a period of time passes, the department could be reinstated and an entirely new staff hired.

POTTSTOWN — The firing of zoning work leader Michelle Fry from the codes office is just one of the developments in the borough department that has recently received so much scrutiny.

Of Fry, formerly known as Michelle Borzick, Borough Manager Mark Flanders would say only that “she is no longer employed by the borough,” and said he would neither confirm nor deny that her departure was connected to a police investigation of her alleged acceptance of a check from developer and convicted thief Frank McLaughlin of East Coventry.

Fry, however, confirmed to The Mercury Tuesday that she is using a standing borough process to appeal her termination. She declined to comment further.

McLaughlin was sentenced in Montgomery County Court last month to three years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of theft by unlawful taking in connection with his use of devices to by-pass water meters so he would not have water bills at his property.

Port Authority’s board of directors voted today to fire CEO Steve Bland after efforts broke down to reach a settlement under which he would resign.

The dismissal was engineered by Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. He has not commented on the matter but sources who asked not to be identified have said friction developed between the two over Mr. Fitzgerald’s desire to have greater control of day-to-day operations at the agency.

The vote to dismiss Mr. Bland was 5-3, with four members recently appointed by Mr. Fitzgerald all voting yes, along with board member Jeff Letwin, who was appointed by the prior county executive, Dan Onorato. The others voting to fire were Joe Brimmeier, Connie Parker, John Tague, Tom Donatelli.

Voting no were Mavis Rainey, Amanda Green Hawkins and Eddie Edwards Jr., all of whom are board veterans.

The team announced the move a day after Reid said he would “look at everything” following a 26-23 overtime loss to Detroit, when Philadelphia (3-3) couldn’t hold at 10-point lead in the final five minutes of regulation.